How I met my Husband

Yay, I figured out how to add the little picture. LOL! That is a bit of an accomplishment for me.

So, this week we are writing about how we met our spouse. This is always a fun story to talk about.
I was a year out of High School and registered to start at Snow College in the fall. I was excited to go and to be out on my own for the first time. I was going to be rooming with one of my best friends.

My Aunt and Uncle that live in WA state were up visiting and my Dad came to me and said, if you are going to school just so you can get away from home, why don't you go back with your Aunt and Uncle and live with them. I said, "no way" I had no desire to go up there to po-dunk Arlington. I had been there many times since my Moms family all live up there. There is nothing to do there, and no one my age there either. Everyone goes on missions or goes away to school somewhere. My Dad asked me if I would just pray about it...I agreed but knew nothing would come of it. Well...Something did come of it. I got the answer that I was suppose to go. I decided that since I was waiting for a missionary, that I could just go up there and pass the time away, and be faithful until he got home. I said good-bye to all of my friends and family and packed up my trusty orange Datsun B210 and away we went.
I left on a Saturday, and that same Saturday was the day that a young man from WA returned home from his mission to Brazil.

The next day I attended a Fireside with my aunt and cousin, and I noticed a really cute guy sitting over on the side of the chapel. I asked my cousin who that was and she asked a girl behind her. I was told it was Craig Wilson, and he was sitting with his best friend who has just gotten home from him mission the day before. I don't really remember even noticing his friend, he must of had that fresh-off-my-mission-I-am-weird look about him. My Uncle who was so determined that I was not going to wait for my missionary called this guy Craig the next day and tried to set me up with him. He was leaving for BYU and didn't have time to meet me. That was okay with me...after all I was waiting for a missionary.

The following week, my Uncle spoke in another ward since he was on the High Council. He got home and told me that he had just met my future husband. I was ok yeah right, what is his name? He tells me his name is Jim, and that he gave Jim my phone number, and that Jim would be calling me today to invite me to a YA Fireside. I didn't really believe him, but sure enough Jim called. (he says he called out of his duty as YA pres of the stake) I had never been to the Stake Center before, but my Uncle drew me a map. I got lost. I could not find the church building. I finally just decided to stop at some house and ask if they knew where it was. I being from Utah figured that everyone knows where the LDS churches are. I stop and a nice looking man opens the door and I tell him what I am looking for, he tells me he is Bishop B and I ask him if he was Jims Dad? He tells me he is, and do I know his son? No, I am on my way to a fireside to meet him. What a small world, to stop at his house.

I get to the church finally, and I can hear the speaker ending his talk. So, I wait outside the door, so I can at least meet the guy that my Uncle tells me is my future husband. I meet him, and he was so nervous. I was trying hard not to laugh, the poor guy had only been home from his mission a week. He was nice enough, but I was not getting any huge fireworks or feelings that this was my soon to be husband.

The next week he called me to invite me to a YA dance. He said that just a bunch of friends were going to Seattle if I wanted to go with them. Since I had nothing better to do I went. We had a good time, and I danced with Jim, and a few other guys. There was a guy there that had been serving a mini mission in my Uncles ward, and he had been over to the house a few times. He kept asking me to dance, and Jim was jealous. This is the one and only time he has ever been jealous in his life. So, he stuck to me like glue the rest of the night. On the ride home I sat up front with Jim and his friend Larry, and they put in the Lionel Richie Tape of love songs. When "Truly" came on, I felt something for this guy that actually scared me. I put my head on his shoulder and listened to the words of the song. What was happening here? I am waiting for a missionary, I loved my missionary, and there was no way I would ever have feelings for anyone else.

When I got dropped off, Jim asked if he could call me and take me out sometime. I said sure. We had our first date the next week, we went to the San Jaun Islands, and then came back and got dressed up and went to dinner, and then to another YA dance. It was a really fun day.
A few weeks past and we would see each other at institute or talk on the phone. We lived about 35 minutes apart, and Jim didn't have a car. So I had to drive to go see him. I had so many mixed emotions. I knew I was going to marry the missionary I was waiting for. But, something was just so different about this guy. And I was having feelings for him that scared me.

We went out again, and I was really having cold feet about dating this guy, it seemed that things were just moving in a direction I was not ready to go. At the end of the date, I told him that I needed a break from him, I needed time to sort out my feelings, and to pray about where this was going. He thought it was a good idea, and so we agreed to not see or talk to each other for a week. I was okay with that. I knew it would be easy to do. That weekend I fasted and prayed, and had my Uncle give me a Priesthood blessing. I kept getting that answer that Jim was the one I was going to marry. I kept sending that answer back, and prayed some more. I could not deny that this was the man Heavenly Father had prepared for me to spend Eternity with.

After 3 days I called Jim, I couldn't wait a week. I wanted him to know the answer I had received. He wasn't home when I called. His sister told me that he was at the Temple. I told her not to tell him I called. I could wait out the week. No I couldn't. I called him the next night and he wasn't home. This time I told his sister to have him call me when he got home. He called at 11:00pm. I told him that I needed to talk to him. But not over the phone. So he made the drive down and got here just before midnight. I told him all about my experiences, and he shared with me the neat experience he had at the Temple where he had gotten the same answer, that we were meant to get married. I was so happy and excited and said to him, I want to call my Mom and tell her we are getting married. He said to me "don't you think I ought to ask you first"? So he did, he asked me if I would be his queen in the eternities. And I said yes!
Then he asked me if he could kiss me for the first time! (that's true, we hadn't kissed yet)

We called my parents, it was 3:00am there, and I told my Dad that I was engaged, he said "that's nice want to talk to your Mother"? My Mom was very excited for me (I am sure she would of been just as excited in the morning at a normal time of day) Jim went home and told his parents, and his Mom said, "I knew it" and his Dad said "I always thought you were going to marry Karen P".

The funny thing about that night, when I asked Jim to come and talk to me, for all he knew I was going to tell him that we should just be friends. He had no idea he would be proposing to me.

I had to Dear John my poor missionary, I felt so bad. He was totally blindsided by my news.
So, it was 6 weeks after we met that we were engaged, and 4 months later we were married in the SLC Temple, on Valentines Day. And Craig Wilson, the guy my Uncle tried to set me up with, was our best man.

Twenty Two years later, I can say that I love my husband more and more each day. He is a wonderful man, and a great Father to our 5 children.